


Memories, Stars, Like Points in Time

by menecio



Category: Naruto
Genre: Blanket Permission, Brotherly Love, Canonical Character Death, Discord: Umino Hours, Found Family, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Introspection, Prompt: Stargazing, Umino Hours Winter Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:27:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28356969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/menecio/pseuds/menecio
Summary: The night after Asuma’s funeral, Iruka decided to go stargazing.
Relationships: Sarutobi Asuma & Umino Iruka
Comments: 8
Kudos: 15
Collections: The Umino Hours Winter Bingo 2020





	Memories, Stars, Like Points in Time

The night after Asuma’s funeral, Iruka decided to go stargazing. He filled a thermos with hot tea, grabbed a bag of biscuits, and headed outside the village. He knew it was dangerous, considering all that had been going on lately, but Konoha felt much too stifling at the moment. Iruka hadn’t really lost anyone since his parents, but ever since Mizuki’s betrayal, it seemed like all Iruka had been doing was lose people. Friends, colleagues, students—they either left or died, and Iruka was having a hard time patching up so many holes in his life. Some, he couldn’t even fathom being able to close.

So, he went stargazing.

Asuma and Iruka had grown apart in recent years, their respective social circles not overlapping enough for them to stay in touch. But, once upon a time, they’d been brothers in all but blood. Iruka had been a young orphan with a chip on his shoulder; Asuma had been a cool prodigy with a penchant for giving him shit. They’d had a lot of fun together. Iruka had missed the company as an adult, but he hadn’t dared ask for it, fearing that he might come across as childish or, heaven forbid, poorly-adjusted.

He should have just asked. Things were always so much clearer, so much simpler, when it already was too late to do anything about them. If you want company, ask for it. If you need help, ask for it. If you miss your brother, spend time with him.

Clear. Simple. Impossible until it really became so.

He went to a spot he and Asuma had discovered a few months after Hiruzen had introduced them—a small clearing west of Konoha, halved by a bubbling brook with a series of small cascades. Thinking back, Asuma had probably known about this place before they found it. He had probably just gently guided Iruka to it, then shared in Iruka’s delight at their discovery.

Easy bonding activity. And Asuma was—had been—the kind to do little things like that to lift people’s spirits: gift them experiences, create happy memories. Despite his gruff exterior, he’d always managed to bring a smile to Iruka’s face whenever he’d felt lonely growing up. Iruka had missed him terribly when he’d moved away to work for the daimyo, but he’d felt awkward about seeking him out after Asuma had returned to Konoha.

It was dumb, but Iruka had been a bit embarrassed about still being a chūnin (and it had been looking more and more like he’d never make jōnin). He hadn’t wanted Asuma to ask about it or offer any sort of comfort on the matter. Asuma had been busy enough reacclimating to life within walking distance of his father, taking orders and missions and names, and Iruka had just not wanted to be a burden. Back then, he had justified it as their not being really brothers. They had been close, in the past, when Iruka had been lonely and growing up, but he was an adult now, and Asuma didn’t need to be his minder any more.

Iruka laid down on the soft grass, fingers entwined behind his head, and looked up at the stars. He’d stargazed with his parents a lot as a child. After telling Asuma about it, the man, then a late teen, had done his best to drag Iruka out to his building complex’s rooftop every now and then to watch the stars in their lazy trawl of the night sky. The last time they’d done it, it had been the night before Asuma would leave for the capital.

“I’ll kinda miss this,” he’d said, lighting a cigarette.

He’d offered it to Iruka, who’d taken a shallow drag and coughed half a lung out. Asuma had laughed and patted him on the back until the hacking episode had subsided.

“Me, too,” Iruka had said, eyes watery.

In the present, Iruka wiped a stray tear away.

He would be missing Asuma for sure.

**Author's Note:**

> Asuma and Iruka thought of each other as brothers and this is the hill I will die on.
> 
> Many thanks to [booleanWildcard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/booleanWildcard) for being a wonderful beta! 😚💖


End file.
